Maintenance fund to give £9bn a year to fix schools, hospitals and prisons

At least £9 billion a year will go to tackling the 'soaring maintenance backlog' and fixing crumbling schools, hospitals and prisons over the next decade under the Government's infrastructure strategy, a minister has confirmed.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said £6 billion a year would go to repairing hospitals, £3 billion to schools and colleges and £600 million to courts and prisons as part of Labour's plans for 'national renewal'.
The maintenance fund is part of the minimum £725 billion committed to boost infrastructure in the 10-year plan, he told the Commons.
The Government hopes this preventative action will break the cycle of emergency repairs in public infrastructure.
It will go towards making court facilities better in a bid to reduce backlogs, and improving safety and security in prisons across England and Wales.
Removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) will be among the measures taken to update health facilities.
The Treasury minister told MPs: 'Done properly it will result in tangible improvements to the fabric of our country, our local roads and high streets renewed so communities are even better places to live. Our public transport more available and more reliable, making it easier for people to get around and access opportunities.
'Our schools and hospitals and GP surgeries fit for the future to deliver for generations to come, and a country that will be stronger and more resilient.
'Communities will see the difference as this Labour Government delivers on the promise of change and a decade of national renewal.'
The strategy also includes £1 billion to fix roads, bridges and flyovers and £590 million to start work on the Lower Thames Crossing project.
Some £16 billion of public investment will go towards building 500,000 new homes through a new publicly owned National Housing Bank. This is expected to unlock more than £53 billion of private investment.
Around £7.9 billion over 10 years will be invested in maintaining and creating new flood defences with the aim of benefiting 840,000 properties.
The strategy covers a decade but the spending review cycle every two years will provide a juncture to decide whether to go ahead with projects.
A 'pipeline' of projects will be published online in mid-July and will be updated every six months.
The chief secretary's shadow counterpart Richard Fuller urged him to set out which major projects are being abandoned and explain why.
The pipeline is a digital dashboard that will give an overview of projects the Government is procuring on a map, Mr Jones said in response.
'It will show on a map of the country which projects we're procuring, when and where to give investors and businesses that long-term confidence about the jobs that are going to be available, so that they can invest in their own workforce,' he said.
The strategy does not cover so-called megaprojects which cost more than £10 billion and take more than 10 years to deliver – currently the HS2 railway, Sizewell C nuclear plant and the Dreadnought submarine programme.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'Infrastructure is crucial to unlocking growth across the country, but for too long investment has been squeezed. Crumbling public buildings are a sign of the decay that has seeped into our everyday lives because of a total failure to plan and invest.
'We're not just fixing buildings – we're enhancing public services, improving lives and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth in communities throughout the UK. We're delivering on a decade of national renewal we promised Britain.
'This will deliver the decade of national renewal we promised Britain, and fulfil our Plan for Change goals to kickstart economic growth, and build an NHS fit for the future.'

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